Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.

Ps 138 v6

The point has been made a hundred times already, but it still resonates. When exactly did we become proud of pride?

Oh, there may have been some good there in the past, at least in the assertion of the fundamental dignity of a human being. But whatever good has long gone. Now it is a declaration of rebellion, of power, of intolerance and well – of pride, in the original sense.

As CS Lewis put it:

It is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. Other vices may sometimes bring people together: you may find good fellowship and jokes and friendliness among drunken people or unchaste people. But pride always means enmity—it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God.

According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.

And it is this vice which we celebrate – we are so often forced to celebrate – for a whole month. And if our ardour is not sufficient, soon we will be required to genuflect at that altar for the whole season.

Wake up Church, and see the pagan culture in which we live. See both the inherent opportunity and challenge, because they come together.